Resources

Original materials and reference

“I began to map out the vast world of Green-Sky on an enormous sheet of graph paper spread out on my studio floor.” Zilpha Keatley Snyder

The original manual (Internet Archive). Instructions, characters and Snyder’s account of designing the game.
Museum of Computer Adventure Game History Box, map, manual and disk photographs, and the manual as a PDF.
“the color and detail rival that of any arcade game. There are more than 100 different screens, each a delight to the eye.” Nick Piazza Jr., Compute!, 1985

Wikipedia Historical overview and bibliography.
MobyGames Platform information, credits and screenshots.
“Obsession. That is the only way to describe the feelings I had for this game when I played it so many years ago.” Mighty Thodd, 2002

Lemon64 The C64 game entry and players’ memories.
“There is a level editor hidden in the code in the Commodore 64 version.”

The Cutting Room Floor The hidden editor and other discoveries inside the game.

“I enjoyed this work more than anything else I've done since.” Bill Groetzinger

John Szczepaniak: The making of Below the Root (Time Extension, 2024). Bill Groetzinger recalls creating Green-sky, alongside accounts from Dale DeSharone and Zilpha Keatley Snyder.
“So I went to visit her, I showed her what computer games looked like, she became very interested in the possibility of collaborating on a game.” Dale DeSharone

Dale DeSharone — an unspoken legend (Hardcore Gaming 101, 2012). The earlier interview cited by Time Extension.
“But what’s really interesting is that Snyder used the game to retroactively change the trilogy’s ending!”

Zack Smith: Weird Children’s Books: Zilpha Keatley Snyder and Below the Root (2013). How the game continues the novels and changes their ending. Spoilers for both.
Compute!, September 1985 Issue index listing Nick Piazza Jr.’s contemporary review.

“We found the game delightfully different, and we really enjoyed the lush and gentle world of Green Sky.” Computer Entertainer

Computer Entertainer, Vol. 3 No. 10, p. 155. A contemporary C64 review rating the game four stars out of four for both measures and marking it “Recommended”.
“It may not look like much now, but in 1984, this cloud level left us in a state of awe.”

Justin Stahlman: Below the Root: a story, a computer game and my lifelong obsession (2015). Childhood discoveries, a proposed remake, a complete 10240×2560 map and extracted sprites.
“Every screen in Below the Root radiates warmth, as if someone has been living there for generations before you.”

Phil Salvador: Below the Root (The Obscuritory, 2020). On hospitality, trust and the game’s kindness.
“From an audio standpoint, the game is sparse musically, but the music that is there is haunting.”

Mark Krepela: Below the Root (Lemon64, 2004). Exploring Green-sky, its atmosphere and its frustrations.
“On discovering this little gem my jaw hit the ground. The game looks so ahead of its time for 1984 and I was surprised I had never heard of it.”

Wingnut: Below The Root — Commodore 64 — 1984 (2012). Discovering the C64 game years later, with a map and gameplay video.
“…Below The Root radiated an eerie mysticism.”

Darby McDevitt: Digital Future, Invisible Past (2014). Returning to Below the Root and the difficulty of keeping old games playable.

Data Driven Gamer: Game 373: Below the Root (2023). A C64 playthrough with maps and detailed observations, then its completion and assessment.
The Adventurers’ Guild: Below the Root (2011). A newcomer follows the clues in the PC version, through to the final part.
“Warp to one of the intro screens (125, 126, 157, or 158) and you can actually walk around the intro area!!!!! (I've wanted to do that since forever!)”

TarynB93: Guide and walkthrough (GameFAQs). Quest solutions, maps and an account of discovering the hidden level editor.

“As a child, the game fascinated me, but not entirely due to the vast land to explore. I often pondered what lay beyond the gameworld’s borders.”

Altus: Below the Root (2017). An ambient album inspired by the game.
Retronauts episode 536: Below the Root (2023). A dedicated podcast episode. This Patreon listing requires membership.